


The Castle on the Hill

by PuzzlesolverDramaqueen



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, Grindeldore, Grindeldore Holiday Exchange 2017, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-07-18 00:49:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16107290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PuzzlesolverDramaqueen/pseuds/PuzzlesolverDramaqueen
Summary: Written for the Grindeldore Holiday Exchange 2017.





	The Castle on the Hill

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dragon-in-drag (on Tumblr)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=dragon-in-drag+%28on+Tumblr%29).



Christmas holidays had just started and only a few students remained in the castle.

Snow was falling, his phonograph played happy tunes in a corner and the christmas lights in his private rooms were merrily switching colours, while Albus got dressed for dinner.

Perhaps he would take a walk through Hogsmeade later, stop by at the Hog’s Head and see if Aberforth would have a drink with him. Or maybe Horace would convince him to visit the Three Broomsticks with Armando.

He turned off the phonograph and put on his hat, ready to head towards the great hall, when Fawkes appeared and settled on his shoulder. Albus smiled at him. “What have you got here?” He took the piece of parchment from his beak and unfolded it.

It was an old map of europe with red spots and crosses sprinkled all over it. Confused he furrowed his brows and turned the map around. Fawkes snuggled his head against Albus’ cheek comfortingly.

_Merry Christmas_  
_xxx GG_

For a few long moments he just stared down at the familiar, messy handwriting. A thousand thoughts rushed through his head, before he looked at Fawkes again.

“Where have you been?”, he murmured, turning the parchment back to examine the route of the red spots.

They started in scotland, led to denmark and halted at a cross in greece. From there they went to bulgaria and lithuania, to a cross in sweden. Then down to hungary and finally they stopped at the biggest cross in the middle of germany.

He traced the line with his fingers, when he heard a knock on his door and Horace bursted into his rooms. “Albus, what is taking you so long? The children are waiting and Armando doesn’t want to start dinner until everyone is there.”

Horace smiled at him broadly and Albus reciprocated, if less enthusiastic. “I’m sorry, Horace, do give my apologies to Armando, but I have to leave the castle for a few days.”

Horace looked surprised. “What for, if I may ask?”

“An old friend sent for me. I won’t be gone for too long.”

Horace sighed dramatically. “I will hope so. I want to toast with you on New Years Eve.”

Albus gave him a smile and bid him goodnight before he started packing a small case with a few things he would need. He apparated from Hogsmeade to Newcastle and got on a ferry to Kopenhagen.

He didn’t know what he was looking for exactly, but when he arrived at the harbour he was met by two broad young men in dark blue velvet robes, which were held together by a big silver button in shape of the deathly hallows sign.

They escorted him to an old mansion, where dozens of young boys and girls dueled, wearing the same shade of blue.

Upon meeting them, he discovered that they were all lost children and they all thought to have found a home among the others.

A girl of 15 told him that her parents had been killed by a muggle explosion during the first world war and that she had left Durmstrang, because some boys had harassed her and nobody had done anything about it. A man in a blue robe had picked her up in Stockholm and brought her to denmark, where she was living with all the other homeless teenagers now.

A 17 years old boy had run away from home after his father had beaten his squib brother to death.

And another young man had just finished Durmstrang and was extraordinarily scared of dying ever since he had survived a crash on a muggle train two tears ago.

There were more. So many more. And they all talked with the same fierce defiance about their cause. About the Greater Good.

He flooed over to greece the same night and found himself in an old muggle factory. A lot of wizards of all nationalities were brewing potions and tending to wide fields, where mandrakes and gillyweed and wolfsbane and much more was growing.

He spent one night in each bulgaria and lithuania in saloons, where witches and wizards in the familiar blue robes met, discussing hierarchy and muggle culture. They used the term Greater Good rather often, but never mentioned the hallows. It made him cringe and the others looked at him skeptically, some even aggravated, but nobody ever tried to hurt him.

In sweden he was shown a farm with dragons and acromantulas, giants and trolls, while he met a group of young children in Hungary, none of them older than 8. Each one of them traumatized and each of them with their own caregiver. A little girl asked him to read her the story of the three brothers and his heart almost stopped, when he took in the sight of her blonde hair and brown eyes and the burned marks on her arms. When two small boys got into a fight, one of them exploded in a cloud of darkness and it took his caregiver half an hour to reach him again at all.

From Hungary, a carriage pulled by thestrals brought him to Germany. They landed deep in the black forest. The coachman opened the door for him and left silently as soon as Albus got out of the carriage.

Alone then, he looked around curiously until a pair of hands covered his eyes. “Merry Christmas”, a deep familiar voice whispered close to his ear. He grabbed Gellert’s wrists, but didn’t pull them away. “Come on.” Gellert kept his eyes covered and slowly led him through the forest. He didn’t know, why he let it happen. He could’ve stopped it. But then again, he had traveled across half of europe, following Gellert’s call, he was pathetic already and - as ashamed as he was to admit it - he liked the steady feeling of Gellert’s warm body close behind him and the thrill of adventure that had overcome him.

When they stopped and Gellert took his hands off of his eyes, they stood in front of a grand, apparently new castle. It was made of light stone with three high towers and many windows and ivy that covered the facade.

He turned to Gellert and froze the second that he looked at him. He wore a blue robe, too and his hair was still blonde and curly, but it had lost its warm gold, looking almost icy now and it was cut in a horrible manner. His face was still beautiful, but it was not the boyish kind of beautiful anymore, he had clearly grown out of that. Everything about him seemed to have gotten sharper, colder and more defined. It was a different kind of handsome, but Albus - despite himself - felt rather attracted to it.

“What is this?”, Albus asked, keeping a straight face, gesturing towards the castle.

“Your Christmas present”, Gellert replied, smiling in satisfaction.

Albus raised his eyebrows. “You give me a castle?”

“I built it for you. Well, I made workers build it, but I financed it and designed it and all that. Do you like it?”

Albus glanced over his shoulder at the castle and then back at Gellert. “You built me a castle?” He didn’t even know how to feel about that, it was just so absurd.

“You’ve gotten slow, Albus.” His eyes were twinkling in amusement. “That happens if you continuedly surround yourself with people far beneath your abilities.”

Albus shook his head slowly. “I don’t have a present for you”, he said dryly. Gellert started grinning. He nodded towards the heavy doors and opened them wide to let Albus in.

The hall was vast with a wooden floor and moving pictures across the walls. There was a small desk and a cabinet with flowers on it and a hall stand and it was all flooded with bright warm light from a chandelier. A house elf took their cloaks and another one led them to the dining hall.

Dinner was extraordinary. Albus had to admit the house elves did an even better job than the elves at Hogwarts and when Gellert opened the first bottle of wine, Albus raised an eyebrow.

“What are we doing here?”, he asked.

“Having dinner”, Gellert replied innocently.

“I haven’t seen you in years. I heard what you’ve been doing and those things aren’t very flattering. You sent me across the continent to give me a castle for Christmas. Forgive me, but don’t you think that sounds rather ridiculous?”

Gellert smirked. “I remember a time, when you were a rather funny man.” He pushed one of the glasses in Albus’ direction.

Albus shook his head, but took it anyway.

“I do not see the purpose of my being here.”

“This is your castle.”

“And what would I do with a castle?”

“Live in it?” Gellert proposed raising his glass in cheers, before taking a sip. “I remember - when we were young - you wished for a castle. You wished to be king, the leader of a revolution.” He spread his arms. “I’m giving it to you.”

Albus took a big sip of his wine. “I am very happy to be teaching, nowadays.”

“You can teach! Teach the children. You’ve seen them in Kopenhagen. It’s so hard to find good teachers anyway.”

“I don’t want to teach them how to be warriors in your war. I want to help them.”

“These children don’t have a home. Many of them thought to have lost all purpose in life. I am helping them.”

Albus chuckled, emptied his glass and leaned forward to look at Gellert. “What is this about?”

“I want you to join me. I want you by my side, like we had always planned. I will give you everything. I am giving you this castle. You can do whichever work you want. You want to alter some of my resolutions? I’m willing to listen.”

Albus shook his head. “No.”

“Just think about it,” Gellert waved his hand nonchalantly and filled up their glasses again.

“I don’t need to think about it.”

Gellert sighed. “Fine.” He stood up and sat down right next to Albus again. “Stay the night then.”

“Why would I?” He felt the alcohol taking its toll on him and Gellerts proximity far too welcome.

“Because you want to.” He let Gellert open his tie. “You traveled across the whole continent just because of a letter that had my name on it. How very telling.”

Albus smiled, taking Gellert’s hands that now started to slowly unbutton his waistcoat. “In favour of the entire wizarding world. Someone needs to keep an eye on you.”

Gellert let out a laugh. “Keep telling yourself that.” And then he kissed him, intoxicatingly slow and Albus couldn’t help, but surrender to it.

They ended up in the ridiculously large bed in the master bedroom and didn’t fall asleep until early morning.

“I missed this,” Gellert murmured into his hair, when they woke up around noon the next day. Albus smiled sadly, pressing a kiss to his collarbone. “This is not real, you know.”

“Is it not?”

“No. You’re still you and I’m still me. This doesn’t change anything.”

“You could still join me. We could have this everyday.”

“Or you could give up your plans and we could have this everyday.”

Gellert chuckled. “I’d be worried, if I thought only for one second that you really think I would do that. I am going to change the world.”

Albus propped himself up on one elbow in order to look Gellert in the eyes.

“One can change the world in many ways. If you continue your violent path, I will stop you someday.”

Gellert laughed, putting a hand on his cheek. “No you won’t. Do you want to know why? I have shown you all of my most important installments, we spent the night in the same bed, unarmed and yet you have done nothing to harm me or prevent me from pursuing my goals. You still love me, you’re still attached to me and that is why you will never be able to bring yourself to go against me.”

“You underestimate me.”

Gellert touched his lips ever so slightly. “It’s a shame. You waste all your potential when we could be so great together.” He caught his gaze. “I am sorry about your sister.”

At that Albus’ face closed off and he sat up to withdraw himself from him. “Wait!” Gellert sat up, as well, grabbing his arm. “I never meant for that to happen. She deserved so much better. But it was an accident. I understand that we needed separation for a while, but why shouldn’t we start all over again now?”

Albus closed his eyes for a second, then turned around and put a hand on Gellert’s cheek. “You’re right. I love you, I don’t know what needs to happen for me to stop loving you. But there is so much that you don’t understand.” He swallowed and kissed him one more time, before he got up and started putting on his clothes again.

Gellert sighed. “This is still yours, you know. If you ever need an escape, this will be here, the elves will be waiting for you and if you ever want to contact me, you will find a way to do so here.”


End file.
